Decentralized electrical power plants will become quite common in the near future. Such stations have many advantages over the present designs for electrical utility power plants, which are typically quite large and often located a large distance from the load for which they are providing power. Another use for decentralized electrical power plants will be as installations placed along highways as recharging stations for battery powered vehicles, which have a limited range as compared to gasoline powered vehicles and which require special electrical recharging stations that are not available at typical gasoline stations.
The disadvantage of decentralized electrical power plants is that each one requires an energy producing device, such as a coal-fired or oil-fired boiler, or a solar panel array, or some type of hydro-electric power. From a cost standpoint, it typically has been much more efficient to build very large power plants, especially when the power source is nuclear. In addition, every power plant must meet certain environmental regulations, and many persons consider it undesirable to place coal-fired or oil-fired power plants in many locations. Another disadvantage of the present technology is that smaller power plants are less efficient than larger (or very large, such as 1200 MVA) power plants.